The China Syndrome Page #4

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You are here looking for a friend?

You're not trying to get a story?

No. I wish I were.

I'm not an investigative reporter.

I don't like reporters.

Most feel the only good news

is bad news.

And, God,

they give our industry a rough time.

Excuse me.

Jack, we'll see you in the morning.

Don't you think reporters

serve a public function?

Ask me a "public function" question,

and I'll tell you.

All right.

Was the public, at any time,

in danger...?

Miss Wells,

could I have your autograph?

Oh, my God, it is.

I thought he was kidding.

- You look just like you do on TV.

- Who shall I write it to?

- Cindy, C-l-N-D-Y.

- Do you know who's here tonight?

The most beautiful TV personality,

Miss Kimberly Wells!

Unreal. Wait, where were we?

You were asking me

a public function question.

Was the public in danger

as a result of the accident?

I use that word deliberately,

because a good reporter would.

Watch out, you'll be on TV.

Excuse me. Let's sit there.

Let me try to explain something

that people do not understand.

These plants are designed

for the possibility of accidents.

Everything that could go wrong

was considered.

Our quality control

is only equaled by NASA.

Every part is tested again and again.

Every weld is radiographed.

Everything is checked

and double-checked and re-checked.

You haven't answered the question.

All right. In everything man does,

there's an element of risk.

So we have "defense in depth."

That means two back-up systems.

You saw it.

There was no radiation leakage.

The system works. Even with

a faulty relay or a stuck valve...

...that system works.

There was no accident.

- Can I get you another drink?

- No, thanks. I have to get up early.

I'm covering the migration

of grey whales at Point Mugu.

You're halfway there.

Why don't you spend the night...

...somewhere around here?

Then in the morning,

slide over the mountains.

No, I have to read so much.

- And find your friend.

- And I have to find my friend.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

Good night.

When you turn on a light,

think 10 percent me.

- What?

- That's how much power we supply.

Good night, Miss Wells.

You got a map? I'll follow you.

Kim.

- I talked to Richard.

- Where is he?

He said if you want the film,

he's at Point Conception.

Some big demonstration.

You've got great timing.

Hang on,

we may change our plans.

Get me Mac.

Marty, Jim.

Get a crew to clean this up.

Rusty, go over this pump.

Check every seal, every rivet and nut.

I want a full report

after every shift, okay?

Let's go, Jack. We've got to talk.

- That could be very, very serious.

- What the hell are we going to do?

- Tear the pump down and inspect it.

- We can't do that.

We'd be down for two weeks.

- The leak must be in a pump seal.

- You don't know that.

- We tighten the seals and test it.

- How will we really find...?

TV monitors

might tell us what's happening.

They might tell us what's happening.

Get on top of this, Jack.

Test it as soon as possible.

I have to call them.

I said we'd be back on-line by 3:00.

To the Atomic Safety Board:

These are pictures of our children.

They cannot be here, so we ask you

to consider them in your decision.

They are the ones who will inherit...

...the consequences of your actions.

And now the names of the children.

Ronald Borsak, 5 years old.

Tony Bulotti, 7.

Robert Grimble, 1 and a half.

Douglas Brown, 2.

Arnold Kelsey, 14.

Ernest Chullet, 10. Dean Smith, 12.

Juan Garcia, 3.

Lonnie Lewis, Scott Lewis, 12.

Blake Holtfield, 2.

Eric Jones, 5. Steven Lang, 13.

- Richard!

- I have to talk to this lady.

Did you miss me?

Unbelievable! Where have you been?

Where's the film?

If you don't get it back,

Jacovich will call the cops.

Come on,

I want to show you something.

- I'm working.

- I'm in room E309.

- I need that film.

- I understand. E309, all right?

You wait for me.

- They'll be in the background?

- Yeah. Over there.

Here?

Them, and a two-shot with me?

How much time do we have?

The sun will be in my eyes.

- Who have you got for me?

- This man's pro-nuke.

Okay, we're going with the red-head

for a whale story, right?

What's she doing? A nuclear story?

Hard news? Okay, I'll handle it.

Now here's Kimberly Wells

at Point Conception.

- I'm speaking with Al Baietti...

- I hope Jacovich isn't watching.

I believe that means

you have particular concern...

...about health and safety measures

and nuclear energy, is that correct?

Studio control. One moment, please.

Mr. Jacovich.

Hi, Don.

I want the cameras here,

here, and here.

Stuart, I need somebody

in the generator room.

We run a pump test at 1300.

What is that?

Demonstrators at Point Conception.

Watch, Jack. They're unbelievable.

Hazel Washburn. I'm a housewife.

I have six grandchildren,

two of whom are here.

I'm protesting because I'm

frightened of nuclear energy.

How will you keep

your grandkids warm?

What do we do

in case of an accident?

How can we be absolutely sure the

waste disposal is taken care of?

- We still go on-line at 3?

- According to De Young.

- Who is it?

- Kimberly.

This is the lady I told you about.

- You can't show this.

- Wait, listen to them.

That guy is a physics professor,

and the other is a nuclear engineer.

You can stop it here.

I thought we'd better show you.

What do you think?

I think you're

probably lucky to be alive.

And the same goes

for all of Southern California.

- Steady as a rock.

- Ted, go to 110.

Wait a minute.

We're at the top of the scale.

It can go up to 110. We'll watch it here.

Okay, go ahead.

Take it to 110.

The seals are holding. Shut it off

and go back on-line as planned.

Leave it there a minute.

In a reactor scram, the system

works automatically for 10 minutes.

They obviously have a problem.

Could you stop it there?

- They're doing it manually.

- It's a stuck valve.

- How do you know?

- I was there last night.

I talked to Jack Godell.

He said it was a stuck valve.

- You talked to him last night?

- That's right.

The stuck valve is forcing them to

deal with the reactor water level.

It looks serious.

In the control room...

...these lights are concerned

with core water level.

They might have come close

to exposing the core.

If that's true, we came very close

to the China Syndrome.

If the core is exposed,

the fuel heats up in a matter of minutes.

Nothing stops it. It melts through

the ground, theoretically to China.

But when it hits ground water,

it explodes into radioactive clouds.

The number killed

depends on the wind.

A vast area would be uninhabitable,

with many cancer cases later.

ED8.

D8. R6.

Perfect.

And perfect.

"D.B. Royce."

Herman, we've got a serious problem.

- The pump checked out.

- Those tests tell us nothing.

My God, Jack,

you ran it up to 110 percent.

That won't tell us what will happen

if we scram at full power again.

Any sudden shock...

Goddamn it, listen to me! Just once.

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